'I'm innocent and I intend to prove it'
'CLEAR CONSCIENCE' | Former governor remains defiant as he heads to prison today
Former Gov. George Ryan, 73, stood defiantly in front of his Kankakee home Tuesday night in the chilly air and declared his innocence after his last bid to stay out of prison failed.
"I will report to the federal corrections facility in Oxford, Wisconsin, as ordered . . . but I do so with a clear conscience and I have said since the beginning of this 10-year ordeal that I'm innocent and I intend to prove it."
(AP)
Ryan gained worldwide attention for emptying Illinois' Death Row in his last days in office, and he signaled a kinship Tuesday night with the allegedly wrongfully accused prisoners of the world.
"I've been fortunate to have at my disposal the finest legal team in the country in Winston & Strawn," Ryan said, surrounded by his family. "However, there are many less fortunate, with fewer means than I have, still fighting for justice."
Ryan has enjoyed an extraordinary run of postponements of his prison date in the year and a half since he was convicted of fraud for diverting state money and contracts to his family and friends, including co-defendant Larry Warner, who is to report to prison in Colorado today.
Ryan and Warner's last shot would have been for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to extend bail, but Stevens on Tuesday morning said "no" to that request. "We knew the petition for bail was a long shot," said Ryan's lawyer, former Gov. Jim Thompson of Winston & Strawn.
Today, Thompson's driver will pick up Ryan and members of his family and take them up to Oxford penitentiary, near the Wisconsin Dells. Thompson was the U.S. attorney who fought to put politicians -- former Gov. Otto Kerner for example -- in prison. This is the first time he will be driving to prison to drop off a client.
"George Ryan is my client," Thompson said. "He has also been my friend for 30 years. I don't run from my friends if they get in trouble."
Ryan's family will be able to visit him only every other week or so.
Ryan praised his family for their support through this ordeal, pointing out his son and daughters, his sister and brother, and pulling his wife, Lura Lynn, close to him.
"I especially want to thank my wonderful wife right here of 41 years, my high school sweetheart," he said, then corrected himself, "Nope, sorry, 51 years. Fifty-one years we were married this year."
His family and friends' cars were parked in the driveway -- a Lexus SUV; a Lincoln Town Car, a Cadillac Escalade -- all with personalized, low-digit license plates -- part of the package of perks he was convicted of handing out as governor and secretary of state.
Actor Mike Farrell of "MASH" fame, a fan of Ryan for his work on the death penalty, called the case against Ryan "disgraceful" and said he hoped the Supreme Court will throw it out. "The implication is that somehow Gov. Ryan was a rich man because he was steering contracts to friends," Farrell said. "The fact is he doesn't have any money. The only money he had was his pension, and that's been cut off. He didn't have any money to pay the defense team and, thank God, they did it pro bono. He probably doesn't want me to tell you this, but he couldn't afford to keep two health insurance policies, and his wife is in poor health, so he let his go so his wife could continue to get health insurance."
Thursday will be the 13th anniversary of the death of six children of the Rev. Scott and Janet Willis in an accident caused by a driver who got his license with a bribe during Ryan's tenure as secretary of state. The Willises issued a statement saying they believed justice has prevailed.
"The Willis children have been deprived of their life," said their attorney, Joseph Power. "They're not alone. Other people died or have been seriously injured as a result of this license-for-bribes scandal. George Ryan is still around. His family can still visit him."
Will Thompson ask President Bush to pardon Ryan? Thompson didn't promise not to ask but said Bush has only granted one so far, and pardons usually come years after sentences have been served. "I don't think there's much of a prospect for presidential pardons," he said.
The only item Ryan will be able to take with him to prison is his wedding ring, Thompson said. The prison has no pharmacy, so Ryan, a former pharmacist, will be assigned some other job, Thompson said.
"There's no reason he can't mop the floor, sweep the hallway or clean the toilets or do whatever else," Thompson said.